Ring Around the Sun

Shot this photo out the office window with my iPhone of the most fascinating ring around the sun.  The ring was actually a rainbow around the sun, completely circular, although I couldn't see the very bottom of it.  Googled to find out what causes it and learned that high cirrus clouds containing ice crystals will refract the light and creates the rainbow halo, also known as "Sundogs".  Quite a sight!

Zazzle Update

I have struggled with my Designs by Peggie on Zazzle.  I wasn't liking the color, the categories, the whole look.  I have played and played with it since mid-October.  I think maybe I have a site design that I can live with for a while, so stop by and check it out.  Let me know how you like it!

Zazzle

Trying a new outlet for my photography.  Of course trying something new always brings that huge learning curve!  I created a "store" on Zazzle and have created two products as a beginning, or really as that learning curve!  Hopefully I'll be humming along adding products and creating new designs!  If you have a chance, stop by and take a peek at www.zazzle.com/designsbypeggie, and please give suggestions!

Carousel Motion

Last night I went to Nantasket Beach in Hull, MA to shoot some photos.  The sun was beginning to set, so it was difficult to get really good settings to compensate for the lighting - well, it would have been possible had I brought my tripod.  I really shouldn't leave home without it!  As the sun was setting my friend Susan and I walked along the beach and ended up at the Carousel, alive with lights and music and kids laughing as they went around and around.  I shot this image of the Carousel handheld.  I kind of like the motion of the lights, and the barely visible horses and children as they enjoyed the ride.  A better and sharper photograph would have happened had I bothered to lug the tripod with me!  When I return to Nantasket, with my tripod, I will shoot some more images of the Carousel.  It's a cool effect.  We finished the night with a delicious ice cream from the Carousel Ice Cream Shop and sat for a while enjoying the ocean breeze.

Macro Workshop

Just came back from a fabulous Macro Workshop taught by David from the South Shore Camera Club.  David showed us all the different choices of equipment a photographer can use for close-up and macro shots.  Macro lenses are the best for shooting close up, but if you are like me and you don't own a macro lens, there are close-up filters, extension tubes, and reversing rings to mount a lens backwards.  After the "classroom" portion was finished, we drove a short distance to the Bradley Estate in Canton, MA.  Gorgeous grounds and trails to walk, and to capture images.  I used close-up rings to shoot these two images. The bee was a challenge because bees just don't sit and pose for you! 

Mini Chocolate-Cream Cheese Cupcakes

During August I shot another round of cupcakes for an upcoming Cupcakes/Cake Cookbook.  Each recipe in the book has been photographed and taste-tested for excellence.  These Mini Chocolate-Cream Cheese Cupcakes are a chocolate lover's heaven.  They are moist and just about melt in your mouth.  I enjoyed both shooting the image and eating quite a few afterwards!

Memorial Day in Boston

Spent a fun afternoon in Boston today with a friend.  This Memorial Day could not have been more perfect weather-wise, just a delight to walk around and take photos.   This photo was taken in Boston Common.  There were 33,000 flags representing the 33,000 soldiers who have lost their lives in the wars.  It was an absolutely stunning sight; and, at the same time, very sad to think that each one represented the loss of an individual's life.

Egret Reflection

I have to admit that I stalked this egret for a week until it was within a close enough range to get a decent image.  The egrets are fascinating to watch.  They are the most patient birds when hunting for food.  They will wait and wait and wait until a small fish swims by, then with lightning speed, they dunk their heads and return with their meal.  I watched one egret that was laying its head on a branch, and thought it had taken a nap, but no, it was just waiting for the opportunity to grab lunch!

Old Route 58 in Carver, MA

Took a lovely, leisurely ride down to the Cape Cod Canal on Route 58.  Along the way, we came across a short section of "Old Route 58", also known as "Old Main Street" in Carver, Massachusetts.  Brought back memories of being a young kid going for rides and riding down this 'country' road, with the two travel lanes separated by tall pine trees, woods on either side, picnic tables along the way to stop and eat a bite of lunch.  

Frosty Farm of Robert Frost

Took a recent trek up to the Derry, New Hampshire area and came across the Farm of Robert Frost, a National Historic Landmark.  The great poet and his family owned this idyllic farm from 1900 to 1911. 

Frost's own assessment of his years on the Derry farm can be found in a letter written to Robert Chase in 1952:

"I might say the core of all my writing was probably the five free years I had there on the farm down the road a mile or two from Derry Village toward Lawrence. The only thing we had was time and seclusion. I couldn't have figured on it in advance. I hadn't that kind of foresight. But it turned out right as a doctor's prescription." --(From: Selected Letters of Robert Frost, Lawrence Thompson, ed. New York: Holt, 1964) Ref:  Quote from the Robert Frost Farm website.

If you find yourself in the Derry area, stop by this classic American farmhouse and see where Robert Frost spend ten years of his life, teaching, writing, and farming.  More information, hours, history and directions can be found at the Robert Frost Farm website.